Many vehicles are designed to transport freight, goods, merchandise, personal property, and other such cargo. Often such vehicles are arranged to tow a trailer by attaching the trailer to the towing vehicle, such as through the use of a hitch assembly. Typically, a trailer hitch is utilized to connect a towed vehicle or trailer to a towing vehicle, such as a truck, for example.
There are many different types of trailer hitches in the art that may be attached to the towing vehicle in a variety of ways, depending on the type of hitch. Some of the most common types of hitches include gooseneck, fifth wheel, front mount, and the like. Typically, trailers are connected to a towing vehicle by way of a hitch assembly including a ball hitch or member secured to the towing vehicle and a ball socket coupling mechanism on the towed vehicle that mounts over the ball and thereby allows for the trailer to pivot behind the towing vehicle.
Ball and socket-type towing mechanisms are used on a wide variety of vehicles, such as automobiles, SUVs, trucks, tractors, and the like. The systems are used to tow various vehicles, such as trailers, mobile homes, other non-operating vehicles, and the like. The socket to hitch ball connection allows relative movement between the towing vehicle and the trailer as the towing vehicle makes turns, traverses uneven or rough terrain, and passes along inclining and declining roadways.
The hitch ball or member of some hitches, such as gooseneck hitch, for example, is commonly mounted in the bed of a towing vehicle, such as a pickup truck, near the longitudinal centerline of the bed. This may allow the weight of the trailer to be generally distributed between the tires on the two sides of the pickup truck. Typically, a sub-frame assembly, such as a hitch, is secured to the towing vehicle. The ball member is attached or otherwise secured to the hitch for use in towing the towed vehicle.
This type of hitch is often secured to the truck structure in an opening cut in the bed of the truck, so that a substantial portion of the hitch attachment is located below the bed of the truck. In addition, the ball member typically may be removed to a stowed position to ensure that the use of the bed is not substantially hindered by the presence of the ball.
The socket structure of a coupler mechanism is typically affixed to the trailer or towed vehicle. Generally, the coupler is secured to the tongue of the vehicle or trailer, usually a forward extension of the frame. The coupler typically includes a manually operated clamping arrangement that retains the ball member in the socket and thus the towed trailer or vehicle to the towing vehicle.
Often, the trailers and sockets are of different sizes, requiring ball members of different sizes. Also, in some instances, it is preferable to be able to remove the ball member for security purposes in order to protect it from corrosion, or to simply store it when it is not being used.
Hitch assemblies of various sizes have been used for this purpose. As a result, it is generally common for different types of trailers to be equipped with sockets that may be adapted for use with hitch balls of different sizes or diameters. Therefore, attempts have been made to provide interchangeable hitch balls to allow the towing vehicle to accommodate a variety of different trailer sockets on the towed vehicle. However, such attempts suffer from several deficiencies.
For example, such hitch balls are typically provided with a threaded mounting shank that is inserted through an aperture in a hitch bar on the towing vehicle. The hitch ball is secured to the hitch bar with a nut and locking washer. This typically requires significant user intervention to secure or remove the hitch ball from the hitch bar. Further, such hitch balls may not prevent a trailer socket from being coupled to the hitch ball prior to securing the hitch ball to the hitch bar.
Over the years, towing balls of various diameters have been used and several industry standard sizes (e.g., 1⅞ inch, 2 inch, and 2 5/16 inch in diameter) are now in frequent use. As a result, it is not uncommon for a single towing vehicle to be used to tow various trailers where those trailers are equipped with socket assemblies adapted for operative connection with towing balls of different diameters. Thus, there is a need in the art for a hitch ball assembly that allows for an easy and convenient interchange of towing balls of different diameters, thereby permitting the hitch of the towing vehicle to be tailored to fit the socket assembly of the towed vehicle or trailer and thereby meet the application needs.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved hitch ball assembly that may be easily interchangeable with the hitch of the towing vehicle.